Why the Colorado Rockies should blow it all up … now

Congratulations Colorado Rockies fans! You’ve just won the spectacular experience of witnessing Fernando Tatis Jr. destroy your team for 14 years straight while they attempt to snatch the NL West title from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the new owners of yet another Cy Young winner being added to their rotation, in a continuous battle that we can only assume will go on for way too many seasons until you scream at the top of your lungs, “OH MY GOD I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE, THIS IS TERRIBLE!” like you’re watching the series finale of Dexter for the first time again.

If it wasn’t already blindingly clear enough to anyone who’s ever decided to willingly cheer for the purple pinstripe baseball boys over the past 27 years, then it should now be staring you right in the face like another angry fan e-mail that’s made its way to Dick Monfort’s iPad:

The Colorado Rockies need to blow everything up until there’s nothing left.

Yes, the Rockies need to start a rebuild and soon as Trevor Story’s house finally thaws out from being frozen by the uncommon Texas blizzard they’re experiencing.

Tatis Jr. just signed a 14-year, $340 million deal with the Padres. Trevor Bauer, who posted up a lowly 1.73 ERA in 2020, just helped solidify the Dodgers’ starting rotation for the next few seasons as they chase their dream of winning 54 NL West titles in a row. These two powerhouses are going to crush in the NL West for the foreseeable future and any other team that happens to maybe win the division will only do so in fluke fashion.

The Rockies, meanwhile, literally paid St. Louis to take Nolan Arenado off their hands while the value of their return could rival that of a couple of Helton burgers and a side of onion rings. Actually, I’d side with the food there.

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There is next to no hope that the Rockies will be able to compete in 2021. FanGraphs has given the Rockies a 0.2% chance to make the playoffs this year. You’re not reading that wrong, either. It’s not supposed to be 20% or even 2%. The Rockies have a zero point two percent chance to make the playoffs and are projected to have a legit shot of finishing with 100 losses. They will not compete this year and, unless they blow everything up right now, they won’t compete in the foreseeable future either.

It would be an unfathomable mistake to feign a chance at being competitive this year in hopes of convincing Story to re-sign after his contract expires at the end of the season. Without Arenado, the Rockies will have more money for him, but what else have they done to prove to Story that Colorado is where he should spend the majority of career? Does the lack of moves to improve an extreme top-heavy lineup entice him to look far enough away from the train wreck that Jeff Bridich is conducting?

Story is one of MLB’s five best shortstops and he will command great money from any team he wants. To think he’d choose to stay in Colorado after watching the Arenado situation implode right in front of his face would be something not even the most optimistic Rockies owner … oh wait … no, I mean fan … could conjure up.

The only logical solution is to blow it all up. Trade Story. Trade Marquez. Trade Blackmon. Get back any value that you can because you literally have a less than 1% chance to make the playoffs this season and, let’s be honest, probably an even smaller chance in 2022 and 2023 also.

And while trading your best players for value in prospects is undoubtedly the best route to go at this point, what has the front office done to give anyone faith that they’ll actually get any good value back for our best players? They won’t, which is why we’re likely going to feign competitiveness until it’s much too late to try to correct course.

We’re stuck in a Bridich and Monfort purgatory and the Dodgers and Padres are celebrating while the Giants and Diamondbacks are laughing. Isn’t this just the greatest? Go Rockies!